Easy Non-Dairy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Did I just find yet another recipe on Pinterest that my family loves? 

Why, yes! I did!

Seriously, Pinterest is the best thing for Mom's since someone decided to invent earplugs.

I found this recipe on The Knotty Knitters Blog. I'm not sure who actually created it though.

So this super easy recipe is great for when you are short on time and need a fall treat for your kid's class, or to take to a work party, or any occasion really! Want to know why? There are only 3 ingredients! Doesn't get any easier than that.

So here's what you'll need:

1 oz can of Pumpkin

1 box Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix

and

1 bag your favorite Non-Dairy Chocolate Chips

(I like Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet)
*optional* I added an extra tsp of cinnamon because I just love me some cinnamon :)

You just mix all the ingredients together in a big mixing bowl (you do not need the ingredients that the cake mix calls for, only the 3 listed above) and scoop them out into small mounds (about 1 tbsp each, a cookie scoop would be best) onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Cook them at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

Seriously, that's it. Start to finish, less than an hour.

This recipe yielded appx 36 cookies when I used my cookie scoop. According to my calculations that's 105 calories per cookie. A little much for my dietary plan, but it's nice to indulge every once in a while.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole (dairy- free & low carb options included)

Per the request of my mother-in-law, here is my Chicken Enchilada Casserole! Dairy free with a low carb option. Can't get any better than that. And it's easy, yummy, and quick too! NOW, you can't get any better than that! So whip this up for dinner and enjoy. Happy Cooking :)

Tortillas: (I prefer low carb whole wheat tortillas, but for my family I use Tortilla land brand that you buy the dough and cook it yourself. They are SSOOO much yummier than the regular pre-made ones you buy in the package.) Cook them.

1-2 cans of canned chicken, depending on your casserole/family size. I prefer chicken, but you could cook up some ground beef, or use shredded pork as well. Make sure it finely shredded, cooks better that way. Toss it with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, not too much though.

I think I used about 12 whole tortillas for this recipe and it fed my husband for days. (My kids won't eat the veggies and I made a smaller low carb one for myself) Rip them up in random pieces and lay them out in a layer on the bottom of your casserole dish. There's no need to spray or butter your dish.

For this particular casserole I used green chile enchilada sauce, I prefer the regular kind for myself though, mild. Spread a good layer on top of the tortillas. I used almost an entire can for one casserole. Spread it around evenly over the tortillas strips.

The next layers are the chicken and the cheese. Nice and thick with the cheese if you can. I only had one package of vegan cheese so my cheese layer isn't as thick as I would have liked it to be. In my opinion, the more cheese, the better!!

Sprinkle on some diced ripe roma tomatoes and chopped purple onion. This layer is optional, but my hubby LOVES both veggies, so I just had to add it.

Repeat those layers (tortilla strips, sauce, chicken, cheese, veggies) as many times as you would like, or till your casserole dish is almost full. Top the casserole with chopped veggies and cheese. Cover and cook about 20 minutes, then uncover and cook another 15 minutes to make the cheese a little crispy. Vwa la! In about 40 minutes you have a yummy dinner for your family. Enjoy :)

Whole Wheat Vegan Friendly Cookies

So I've modified my good friend's chocolate chip cookie recipe and come up with this awesome Vegan Chocolate chip Cookie recipe that all can enjoy no matter the diet or allergy. Unless you're allergic to Gluten... still working on that one. In my extended family there are a lot of different diets and a lot of different allergies so we're always striving to make new and awesome recipes that everyone can have. The only diet this doesn't follow is Low Carb (which I'm on) bc each cookie has about 20g. It sucks, but they are so good and everyone needs to splurge here and there :) I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup margarine (the Nucoa Brand has no dairy)

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup Xylitol (about $7 a bag at your local health food store)

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp corn starch

4 tbsp water (corn starch and water make up your egg substitute i.e. 1 part starch + 2 parts water = 1 egg)

2 tsp Real Vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 bag Semi-sweet chocolate chips (be sure to check the ingredients to make sure there is no dairy. There are two brands I've found so far that have no dairy: the first is the Kroger brand semi sweet and the second is the awesome but more expensive Ghirredeli semi sweet)

Preheat your oven to 375.

In a medium mixing bowl mix together the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and set aside.

In a larger mixing bowl mix all your other ingredients together. Add your flour mixture to the wet mixture one cup at a time, and mix well after every cup. Once your flour mixture is all added and blended, slowly add your chocolate chips and mix them in well.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet by the tablespoon full and cook for 9-11 minutes depending on how soft you like your cookies.

A warning- this cookie dough may look pretty normal, but the whole wheat flour makes for a much softer and moister cookie, so they look, cook, and taste much different than what you are normally used to. Don't worry! They are still pretty tasty. Watch them carefully in the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack before storing them together because they tend to stick together.)

Turkey Meatballs

So I tried my hand at making meatballs tonight to go with our spaghetti and they turned out pretty yummy. So here is the recipe as promised. It's actually pretty simple.

You will need:

2 lbs raw Turkey burger

3/4 cup Fresh soft bread crumbs

1 lg Egg, beaten

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 tsp Italian seasoning

2 tsp Parsley

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Salt

Sprinkle of Pepper

3-4 tbsp Fresh Soft Bread crumbs

*It's really easy to make fresh soft bread crumbs in a hurry. All you do is toast the bread till it's ALMOST burnt and crunch & crumble it. Easy, right?

Now, I tweaked the recipe to fit my family size and use what I had so here is what I used.

1 lb raw Turkey Burger

1/2 beaten egg

heavy sprinkle of tofu parmesan

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Sprinkle of Basil

1/2 tsp Garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

sprinkle of pepper

2 tbsp bread crumbs

And the directions are very simple. Preheat the oven to 375• and line a baking sheet with tin foil. Mix all the ingredients except the small amount of bread crumbs at the end of the list together in a large bowl with a mixer. (I just used my hands, gross, but fast and effective) Shape them into small balls. (using a cookie dough scoop makes the perfect size and shape, but I found it was faster to just use a small spoon and my hands) Roll each ball in the crumbs you set aside and place on your lined baking sheet. Dust with the remaining bread crumbs and bake 20-25 minutes or until cooked through. If you make bigger meatballs you will have to allow a longer cooking time.

Serve over spaghetti noodles and top with your favorite marinara or pasta sauce. This is also a fun easy appetizer that you can serve with ranch, marinara, and toothpicks. Enjoy!